1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a swatter.
2. Description of The Prior Art
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,905,146; 4,910,909; 5,052,967; and U.S. Pat. No. Des. 311,050 disclose various types of fly swatters. All of these swatters act to squash an insect thereby leaving a residue which must be removed.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,673,730 teaches a fly swatter which is intended to dispose of insects without squashing the same. The swatter consists of a perforated, resilient plastic sheet provided with cushioning strips. According to the patent, if an insect is contacted by one of the strips, the strip compresses at the area of contact while the remainder of the strip retards total compression and prevents squashing. On the other hand, when an insect is positioned between the cushioning strips, the strips retard and cushion movement of the resilient plastic sheet after the strips contact the surface on which the insect is sitting and before the sheet contacts the insect. Squashing is avoided by the composite action of the plastic sheet and the cushioning strips.
Although the swatter of U.S. Pat. No. 3,673,730 represents an improvement over other conventional swatters, squashing is not prevented with as high a degree of reliability as desirable.